Weekly Survival Tips

How to Keep Looters out of Your Home

It doesn’t take the complete collapse of society to bring out the worst in people. We’ve seen time and time again, whether out of necessity or just opportunity, each disaster brings with it an army of increasingly brazen looters. Hell, sometimes it doesn’t even take a bad situation for people to act like animals. If you’re not prepared to avoid, or in a worst case scenario, repel looters, you’re going to end up getting robbed and possibly even killed.

Either scenario ranks pretty high on my list of things not to do, and I’m willing to bet that you share similar feelings, so today we’re going to outline a plan to prevent that from happening.

Your first step is to avoid contact with looters in the first place. The most effective way to do so is to make it look like someone else already beat them to the good stuff, by tossing some of your belongings and trash around the outside of your home, and maybe even vandalize your property with a bit of graffiti. Basically, you need to trash your home superficially without affecting it structurally.

For God’s sake, don’t put up a sign warning that looters will be shot. All that does it let people know that you have guns and ammunition; something a well armed gang might be willing to shoot it out to obtain. Plus when order is restored, any defensive shooting will face far more scrutiny from the police/DA if you had a sign like that posted.

Get a dog. A big one; not one that wears a bow and can fit in your lap. I don’t care how bad ass someone is, when they hear a large dog barking or growling, they are almost certainly not going in that home.

If possible, move your vehicles to your backyard so that people looking to steal them or siphon gas from the tanks will pass harmlessly by your home.

Avoid running a generator unless absolutely necessary; and no, keeping your beer cold is not a necessity. Anyone in the immediate vicinity will be alerted that there’s someone with plenty of supplies and food the second you start that engine. While solar panels won’t produce as much power, they are a better option because they can silently produce electricity, which can be stored in batteries for use at night.

Practice noise and light discipline; shut your pie hole so people outside can’t hear you, and at night, either do not use lights, or ensure that your windows are covered sufficiently to prevent any light from escaping. Black trash bags secured with tape work well for this, but be sure to confirm from outside that no light escapes.

If you have the tools, install door bars. Otherwise, move large, heavy furniture to block your windows and doors. Pay particular attention to sliding glass doors as they provide easy access to anyone equipped with nothing more than a rock, but be sure that you’re able to escape quickly if it comes down to it; especially in the case of a fire.

You may need to use force to keep looters out of your home. If it comes to that, do not ever fire a warning shot. It could strike an innocent bystander outside or even in a neighboring house. Once order is restored, you’ll likely face prosecution on the premiss that if a situation could be defused without deadly force, there was no reason to fire in the first place. I don’t agree with that, but I don’t make the rules.

Make sure you have enough suitable weapons and plenty of ammunition. Ideally, at least one shotgun or semi-automatic rifle and a few hundred rounds per person. More is always better, but there’s no point in going overboard.